I was quite surprised to see that the late Shawn Lane is not listed in PA. He is little known here in Europe but I guess he's much better known in the States.

His only two studio records "The Powers of Ten" and "The Tri-Tone Fascination" are great works which I would classify in Jazz-Rock-Fussion (not in Prog-Metal please !!).

If I will have the chance to ever review "The Powers of Ten" I will define it as "take Allan Holdsworth, Pat Metheny and Steve Vai, add a pinch of Zappa and another of Chick Corea, put it all in a mixer, and you have an idea of what this album sounds like".

An unquestionable talent, and a sad loss for the musical world who deserves a place in PA.

I searched more info, Shawn Lane started in Southern rock band Black Oak Arkansas (at his 14 as lead guitarist!), later was influenced by Holdsworth guitar techniques and played with Jonas Hellborg.

From above samples I can really hear some Holdsworth influences, but all music is more instrumental rock with some fusion elements (let say more Steve Vai than Holdsworth).Jazz moments are presented, but not too much. In many places it sounds more as jam band, than as jazzy improv. Few places are really fusion though.

From what I heard there I think his music is instrumental rock ,but with fusion influence for sure. Possibly, it's my personal impression, but theer are not enough jazz elements (even if separate songs are more jazzy) for being classified as progressive jazz-rock fusion.And 100% no chances to be classified as progressive metal .

Glad to hear those first positive feedbacks, I hope there will be consensus to add him to PA !

The reason I said "not in Prog-Metal please" is that Shawn Lane is frequently praised as being the fastest guitarist ever, and as such is sometimes revered by metal public and put alongside metal guitar-shredders such as Steve Vai (admittedly much more than a guitar shredder), Tony MacAlpine, Richie Kotzen and the likes.

But Shawn Lane was special, even if his guitar sound was sometimes close to the metal shredders, his music was purely fussion, indeed his biggest influence being Alan Holdsworth, and for another thing he was also a very accomplished pianist / keyboardist (in his great first solo album "The powers of ten" he played all the instruments, well, I think for the drums he used a sequencer but anyway all by himself).

And the big advantage compared to Holdsworth is that while Alan's solo albums frequently sound like academical scale-practice exercises, Shawn had real melodies in his music.

I've heard Holdsworth in multiple contexts, and I've heard nothing that compares to Lane. Which is ok because Lane was part of a generation that built on the work the 70's fusion guitarists started. It's natural that they would take the torch further. And hopefully there will be new artists to advance it even further.

You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all.

Direct comparisons are hateful. I agree that the guitar pieces of Shawn Lane are closer to Frank Gambale's than to Holdsworth's, but for one thing Holdsworth is better known when having to give some references. Then we have the fact that Shawn Lane fortunately wrote also pieces based on his huge skill with the piano and keyboards, giving him an important advantage compared to Gambale or other guitar heroes who while being great may get too repetitive with the virtuoso-guitar-shredding thing.

Holdsworth is more experimental and cold-technical, and Lane was more sensitive, more melodic. I love both (and Gambale too), they are simply different and they all deserve credit for what they have done.

this is not Jazz fusion but he is a legend i Norway often considered the best Norwegian guitaris, probably one of the fastest blue-grass guitarists in the world he is also a prominant banjo player, he gets praised by both Clapton and Knophler by being the best guitaris in the world.

he is most known for writen fun, silly songs about caravans, Volvo Amazon and other humeos songs he combine fast guitar playnig, stand-up comic, if you understand Norwegian you will fall of your chair in laughter, often blue grass based

Direct comparisons are hateful. I agree that the guitar pieces of Shawn Lane are closer to Frank Gambale's than to Holdsworth's, but for one thing Holdsworth is better known when having to give some references. Then we have the fact that Shawn Lane fortunately wrote also pieces based on his huge skill with the piano and keyboards, giving him an important advantage compared to Gambale or other guitar heroes who while being great may get too repetitive with the virtuoso-guitar-shredding thing.

Holdsworth is more experimental and cold-technical, and Lane was more sensitive, more melodic. I love both (and Gambale too), they are simply different and they all deserve credit for what they have done.

Shawn Lane got one JRF team member's "Yes" for inclusion, so evaluation process is on its way. Just wait a bit for the final team's decision .

He already has PA credentials as a collaborator of Jonas Hellborg, I'll be giving those two albums a spin. Thanks for the suggestion.

A lot more than two with Hellborg and all worth checking out and don't forget the collaboration with Hellborg on Michael Shrieve's album Two Doors and a few tunes on Jens Johansson's Fission. And then there is the excellent live Tritone Fascination Live under Lane's name.

To be honest I thought we agreed to Lane's inclusion a couple of years ago

He already has PA credentials as a collaborator of Jonas Hellborg, I'll be giving those two albums a spin. Thanks for the suggestion.

A lot more than two with Hellborg and all worth checking out and don't forget the collaboration with Hellborg on Michael Shrieve's album Two Doors and a few tunes on Jens Johansson's Fission. And then there is the excellent live Tritone Fascination Live under Lane's name.

Thanks, I am definitely interested!

Dick Heath wrote:

To be honest I thought we agreed to Lane's
inclusion a couple of years ago

That's interesting... can it be dug up from the vaults? Or should there be a new evaluation?

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